#birdsgallery

Amazing sighting of a Swamp Nightjar we came across as we approached a lion sighting! This was on tour with @rockjumper_birding_tours, on the Jao Reserve in the Okavango Delta. @wearewilderness #canonphoto #safari #africa #janpienaarphotography #naturebyjan #menseselense #gomagsa #bird #birdsgallery #birding #your_best_birds

This image may not be the best photo of the species ever captured but it is one of very few of a displaying Satyr Tragopan in the wild – the undoubted highlight of our most recently completed tour to Bhutan, led by Rich Lindie and David Erterius. Check out the horns on this guy! 

Terrestrial Brownbul in the Okavango Delta. #canonphoto #bird #birdsgallery #birding #safari #africa #janpienaarphotography #naturebyjan #menseselense #gomagsa #Okavango #Delta #nuts_about_birds

Raptors were a big draw on our Panama trips this year. Harpy Eagle and Crested Eagle were both on territory, and we enjoyed staggering numbers of migrant raptors flying overhead also. But here we feature some smaller, more colourful companions from Rockjumper's just concluded Panama - Darién Extension. A Green Shrike-Vireo out in the open (!), a Golden-collared Manakin near a lek, and a Snowy-bellied Hummingbird resting by our lunch spot. 

The Bare-cheeked Babblers were one of our main target species in the Etosha National Park on our recent Namibia, Botswana and Zambia tour. After missing these birds in other well-known locations just outside the national park, we finally managed to track down a noisy group of these gregarious birds in Halali Rest Camp. These babblers prefer dry watercourses, sparse woodlands and rocky hillsides and are endemic to Namibia and south-west Angola.

On the second day of a Private Cape and Kruger Tour, we found ourselves visiting the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens in Betty’s Bay. One of the main reasons for visiting the Botanical Gardens was to try our luck at finding the ever-skulking Victorin’s Warbler. Thankfully, it did not take us too long to locate a pair, as they were very vocal and we all managed to get excellent close and unobstructed views of this special bird! These common endemics usually eat insects and prefer habitats such as wet mountain fynbos, bracken and ferns.